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Business teacher CJ Hersom proposes Investing 101 course, committee asks for draft to present to full board
Summary
CJ Hersom told the Groton curriculum committee that a half‑year Investing 101 course would teach compound interest, retirement accounts, stocks, funds and a cumulative project; Perkins funding will pay for simulation software so the course would cost the district nothing up front. The committee asked staff to draft the course and return with a formal proposal for the Board of Education.
CJ Hersom, a business teacher, presented a proposal for a half‑year CTE course called Investing 101 to the Groton Board of Education Curriculum Committee on May 4, saying the course would teach students practical wealth‑building skills such as compound interest, the difference between stocks, bonds and funds, retirement‑account basics (401(k), Roth options and IRAs) and portfolio risk.
Hersom said the curriculum draws on NextGen Personal Finance standards and would use a Perkins grant to pay for Personal Finance Lab simulation software, meaning "there's absolutely no cost to the district," she said. The course would be a hands‑on complement to the district's existing Personal Finance I and II offerings: students would make simulated investment choices, keep reflective journals and complete a cumulative project that walks them through opening an investment account and planning a strategy.
The committee asked technical and practical questions. Ian Thomas asked whether the course would cover risky strategies such as options trading and the presenter said the half‑year class focuses on long‑term investing principles rather than advanced derivatives or options. Committee members pressed about program overlap and staffing; Hersom said she would not reduce her course load and that Melissa Manzioni, the CTE department head, already teaches accounting so the district could maintain accounting sections while offering one or two Investing 101 sections depending on interest. Hersom cited local demand: an investing club she advised drew "between 25 and 40 students" this year, while accounting enrollment had dropped to a few small sections.
Committee members agreed the course was worthwhile and discussed next steps. Under the committee's new process, members said they would approve that the course be written; staff will produce a draft curriculum for review and Hersom and Manzioni will return with that draft to present to the full Board of Education.
What happens next: the committee requested the presentation materials be shared with all members and asked staff to prepare a formal draft of the Investing 101 course for the board's consideration.
